The One With the Relationship
by Windpower
Summary: They started out in London. Monica was drunk. Then they kept getting interrupted. Back in New York everything is changed. Drabbles from season 5.
1. The One Where Monica Needs Someone

**A/N**: Ok, this isn't very good. It's the product of half an hour where I was unable to sleep.

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><p><strong>The One Where Monica Needs Someone<strong>

Monica was drunk. She knew she was drunk. She was alone, in her hotel room in_ London _and she was drunk. It was not the fun drunk where the room was spinning or everything was exceptionally funny. It was the depressed kind of drunk where she wanted to brood and stare at her drink for hours until the alcohol had passed through her system, the numbness gone and all she was left with was a headache.

She was a single mom with a 30 year old son. She was an old spinster cook. She was all alone, without a boyfriend's shoulder to cry on. She could feel tears threatening to well up in her eyes and she forced them down with a determined gulp of her drink. She didn't know what made tonight different from any other night, maybe it was the alcohol or Ross finding someone again or the drunken guy's comment, but Monica needed someone tonight. Someone who could make her feel good for a little while. She didn't want some random guy. It could easily end in disaster and that was not what she needed. The answer presented itself clearly in her mind. Joey was the one she needed. She already knew from his flirting that he knew how to make a woman feel great about herself. Hooking up with him, having meaningless sex as friends… That was what she needed. To feel wanted and sexy, just for a moment.

Somewhat awkwardly she stood up from the bed. Joey would give her that. Walking down the hallway, drink and keycard in hand. It was still early. Joey would be there. She knocked before she could convince herself that it was a bad idea. She probably wouldn't have been able to, anyway.

Chandler opened the door. In his pajamas he looked as pathetic as she felt. Drunk and sad, she couldn't resist making a jab at him. He wouldn't mind. He'd understand. He always did.

"Cute PJ's. You're really living it up here in London?"

Stirring her drink, she shot him a quick glance, noticing he looked confused and… timid? She couldn't identify it and it was gone before she could study him more closely.

"Well, I wasn't exactly expecting company after… 9.15."

She pushed her way past him, eager to find who she had come to find. "Is Joey here?"

The room was empty except for an uncertain Chandler. Uncertain was what he was. Monica scowled confused at him. What was up with that?

"Last time I saw him he was heading out the door with the bridesmaid and a bucket of strawberries."

Disappointment surged through her and she felt herself slip back into the depressed state. Joey was gone. She knew what she needed, and now there was no one to give it to her.

"You're not still upset about what that guy told you, are you?"

Surprised that her emotions had shone through so easily, she hesitantly lifted her gaze to meet his. "Wouldn't you be?"

She wasn't sure about what she was doing. Joey was gone, but Chandler was here.

"It's been a really emotional time, you know, and you've had a lot to drink. You've just got to let that go, okay?"

She wasn't sure about what he was doing either.

"I mean, you were the most beautiful woman in the room tonight!"

Her heart was pounding too fast. She felt heat rise and suddenly everything felt the way it was supposed to be.

"Really?"

She wanted more. She wanted to savor and relish this feeling forever.

"Are you kidding? You are the most beautiful woman in most rooms-"

Everything was suddenly clear to her. Later she would marvel over that it was Chandler, Chandler that had made her feel wanted and sexy and _beautiful_, and for so much longer than just one night. She would wonder at how good it felt and the weirdness of it not being weird. She would risk their friendship for a shot at something that felt so right. Love. It would be heartache and thrill and want. It would be proposals and marriage and babies. It would be everything she ever wanted.

For now she did what she had to do.

She kissed him.


	2. The One Where They Can't Catch a Break

**A/N**: This was originally a oneshot, but is now the second chapter in a collection of drabbles :)

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><p><strong>The One Where They Can't Catch a Break<strong>

It was awkward to say at least. Ross barging inn had woken them both and left them in an uncomfortable silence. None of them knew what to say, where to start, how to react to the seemly absurd situation they found themselves in.

"Well I've, I've never done that with you before," Chandler said in an attempt to break the silence.

"Nope," Monica chuckled nervously. It was so weird waking up with him like this. Or being woken up by him shoving her underneath the covers. Ross's yelling had made her think of the gravity of the situation. Earlier that night she had told him that they weren't that close friends anyway. Which she realized now was a lie. Everything would be different. And awkward.

"So," Chandler squirmed nervously beside her. "How are you? How you… How you…" He stuttered but pulled it together. "You okay?"

Trying to act like nothing was wrong, she chirped "Yep, Yep!" Nerves hit her again and she turned to him "You?"

He kept staring straight ahead. "Yes… uh." Monica swallowed. "You?" he asked again. She kept staring at him. Realizing he turned to her. "We already did you."

They both looked away and stared at the sheet covering them, fighting an inner battle with themselves.

Monica debated with herself whether to discuss if this would affect their friendship or not. She remembered Chandler's relationship issues and figured it would be bad to talk about it. She didn't want him to think that this _meant _something to her (although it did) so that he would freak out about having a relationship they didn't really have. Things started to get complicated in her head. And they didn't really have time for discussing anything anyway.

Chandler was busy beating himself up. She had been drunk. The perfect amount of drunk, but he should have thought about how this would affect them before jumping into it. His mind kept being sidetracked, wondering if she would want to hook up again. It was probably not the best time to ask her, however.

The silence kept pushing them down, until Monica broke it.

"Well… I'd better be going."

A rush of emotions hit Chandler, the majority of them grateful for her leaving and breaking the awkwardness, but some were yelling for him to ask her to stay so that he could kiss her again. He refused to acknowledge those.

"Oh yeah," he agreed eagerly. "Absolutely."

She scooted to the side of the bed and paused there, tense.

"Could you… not look?"

He heard the embarrassment in her voice.

"I… I don't want to look." He stubbornly said and stared intent at the opposite wall, wanting not to look at her in _that _way. Wanting to view her as just his friend again. That path was unfortunately closed for both of them.

Monica quickly got dressed in her clothes from last night while Chandler had a staring contest with the wall. She hurried to the door wanting to get out before Joey or worse, Ross, came back.

"See you later," she said hearing her own voice as far away.

He turned his head, still clutching the sheet to his chest and looked at her. "See you, Mon."

She offered him a weak smile and he smiled a little in return, before she left.

They both had some serious thinking to do.

* * *

><p>As soon as Monica left Chandler got out of bed. He hurried into the bathroom before Joey could come back and ask him what he was doing completely naked in their hotel room. Stepping into the shower he allowed himself to think about last night. She had hooked up with <em>him<em>; she came to _his_ door and started kissing _him_. Chandler couldn't help smiling. It was weird, he would admit that. The weirdest thing was, however, it hadn't felt weird doing it. She had liked it, he was sure of that. He almost laughed at the memory. Seven times in one night. He had gotten so much better than before.

He did a little dance in the shower and grabbed the soap. It felt weird that he had done this with Monica, yet in a way it did not. It had been nice, being with a friend and waking up with her, the awkwardness be damned. Chandler sighed. He had liked it. He wanted to repeat it. He just had to ask her if she still was game. He grinned at the memory: Monica pressed against him, gasping "We are so doing this tomorrow."

Then he tried to think about it realistically. It had been stupid to do this. Jeopardize their friendship like that. They had agreed that they weren't that good friends anyway, but that was a spur of the moment thing. Shampooing his hair he decided. The whole thing was insane. They shouldn't be doing it. They should stop. But if Monica was in one more time, so was he.

* * *

><p>As soon as Monica came back to her hotel room she collapsed on her bed. She hid her face in the pillow as her face split into a grin.<p>

"Oh my God," she moaned softly, still not able to really believe she had done _that _with Chandler.

It had been so good, and so not weird, which in itself was weird. Rolling over on her back, she sighed. She wanted to do it again, with him. Things were already awkward, she reasoned. The damage had already been done. But the nagging voice in her head kept telling her that if they continued, things would get even weirder. She stood up and walked into the bathroom, deciding that she and Chandler needed to talk about this, at least at some level. At least talk about if they should talk about it or leave it alone.

They should probably stop this. Starting anything but a friend-relationship with Chandler was a bad idea. Him relationship issues combined with her bad luck in men could only end in disaster. The other voice in her head however, was singing with joy over an amazing night, having the best sex she ever had.

Unable to satisfy both the voices in her head, she decided to tell Chandler that they had to stop, but that she wanted to do it one more time. At least.

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><p>Stepping out of the bathroom, still in his own thoughts, Chandler took little notice of Joey.<p>

"Hey," Joey offered.

"Hey," he said his thoughts elsewhere. Joey's next question took him completely by surprise.

"Have you seen Monica?"

Chandler froze, shocked. His brain screamed at him: Deny! Deny! Deny! While he wondered how Joey could possible know.

"I'm not seeing Monica!"

"What?" Joey's confusion was apparent.

He relaxed. Joey didn't know. He overreacted. What had happened was supposed to stay between him and Monica and he would keep it that way.

"What?" he said pretending he didn't know what Joey was asking about.

"We got to find her," Joey exclaimed stressed. "Phoebe just called! Rachel's coming to tell Ross she loves him!"

Chandler momentarily forgot about his own situation, completely shocked at Ross and Rachel's. "Oh my God!"

Joey nodded in agreement. "I know. And that's why we need to find Monica. You know where she is?"

Chandler froze again. The only reaction he could come up with was getting defensive. "No! Okay?" Panic welling up inside of him. "What's with the third degree? Why don't you just shine a light in my eyes?"

Joey's totally confused expression led Chandler to believe he had gone too far. His defensive act had only raised suspicion. But Joey just shrugged it off and Chandler felt safe for now.

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><p>Monica had thought her brother's wedding day would be perfect. That was until Joey had grabbed hold of her and told him what Phoebe had said. She realized it wouldn't have been perfect anyway with her mother criticizing her like always. If she just could let it go for one second…<p>

Standing in the middle of the chapel Joey walked up to her.

"Monica," he whispered. "We really need to start looking out for Rachel. I'll cover the front door. You'll watch the big hole in the back and I got Chandler covering Ross," he added with a shrug.

Fear welled up in her. Why would he tell her about Chandler? Did he know? Panicked she started babbling. "Why would I care where Chandler is?" she nervously twinned her hands together. "You know, sometimes I don't even like Chandler!"

Joey stared at her like she was crazy and Monica realized she had overdone it.

"Okay…" he said carefully and Monica walked away in a hurry, leaving him to stare confused after her.

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><p>Monica was relieved. Rachel hadn't said anything to Ross. She had sat down quietly to attend the wedding as a guest. Monica was happy for Ross and Emily but this forced her to walk down the aisle with Chandler. The awkwardness was still there. She still debated with herself if she should bring it up.<p>

Chandler beat her to it. "What we did last night…"

"Was stupid." Monica finished.

"Totally crazy stupid," Chandler agreed and Monica felt a rush of sadness hit her. Well, if that was how he felt…

"What were we thinking?" she asked rhetorically while swallowing the bitterness that rose inside her.

Chandler looked at her, silently wondering if she really meant it and if he should just back down. But it was Monica he was talking about. _He _would be crazy if he went down without at least trying. They had almost reached the podium.

"I'm coming over tonight, though?" he asked, hoping, hoping.

Monica's heart swelled. He wanted to. Oh, he wanted…

"Definitely," she agreed and they broke free from each other before their emotions could show.

* * *

><p>Chandler and Monica met at the buffet table a while after the disastrous ceremony.<p>

"Hey," Chandler greeted.

"Hey," she replied.

He had been thinking. It was probably not the right time to discuss _them _when two of their best friends were having serious problems. But Chandler had decided that the problem he and Monica had was almost equally important. They couldn't keep doing this. Look where it had gotten Ross and Rachel. As much as it pained him to say it, he had to tell her about his fears.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, and I know we had plans to meet up tonight, but I'm just kinda worried about what it might do to our friendship." Might do? More like _will_ do…

Monica kept her gaze at the food. "I know," she replied sadly. "How could we have let this happen?" The weird thing was; even though they kept discussing it back and forth, listing, worrying and agonizing about the bad things this might do to them, she still wanted to continue. It seemed like nothing could dull those emotions.

"And seven times!" Chandler said angrily. She almost smiled at that. Seven times…

She tried to reason. "Well you know. We were away…"

Chandler caught up with her almost immediately. "In a foreign romantic country."

"I blame London," she exclaimed desperately wanting _anything _to take the pressure away from the real heart of the problem.

"Bad London!" Chandler agreed and smacked the turkey with a spoon. She gave him a puzzled look.

Still, seeing as he agreed with her she decided to press further.

"So look," she started nervously. "While we're still in London, I mean, we can keep doing it, right?" Hopefulness taking over her voice.

Chandler almost did the dance. Given everything negative they had discussed, she still wanted to hook up with him. They could deal with the issues when they got back home.

"I don't see that we have a choice," he said happily. "But, when we're back home, we don't do it." They had to stop somewhere or it would ruin them.

"Only here," Monica agreed, glad that they had pushed the issue away. If everything went according to plan, they could just forget it ever happened when they got home. She knew she wouldn't forget, but they could go back to being just friends, now that they had sat a limit.

Chandler decided to waste no time since all they had left in London was a day. "You know, I saw a wine cellar downstairs."

Say no more, Monica thought. "I'll meet you there in two minutes!"

"Ok," Chandler smiled, throwing away his plate and ran towards the wine cellar.

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><p>A little while later a confused Monica walked up to Chandler. "Where were you? Wasn't we supposed to meet in the wine cellar?"<p>

Chandler sighed sadly. "Forget it. It's off."

Panic welled up inside Monica. He had changed his mind. She choked out a soft "Why?" feeling tears gather in her eyes.

Chandler took no notice. He pointed irritated to Emily's dad who happily announced that the next tour of the wine cellar would take place in five minutes. Monica swallowed her tears and almost laughed at her reaction. What was the matter with her? This thing with Chandler wasn't supposed to continue forever anyway.

Joey effectively made her forget those thoughts. "Are you eating meat?" she asked surprised at him, staring as he filled his plate with turkey. "I thought you wouldn't eat meat until the triplets were born."

Joey shrugged. "I figured since we are in a different country, it doesn't count."

Chandler looked at Monica seeing that she had realized the same thing he had.

"That's true," Monica agreed.

"The man's got a point," Chandler nodded suddenly feeling unwell. He didn't mean it. He didn't think that just because they were in a different country that Joey's deal with Phoebe didn't count. But, if he believed that, what would that mean for him and Monica?

Chandler grabbed her elbow and led her a bit away from the crowd. Monica's face was flushed leading Chandler to believe she had thought at least some of the thoughts he had been thinking.

"Should we really keep doing this?" he asked in a low voice.

Monica looked into his eyes and saw nothing but earnestness. She realized that on some level this meant something to him too. She debated for a few moments. "It's only when we're in London, right?" she asked and Chandler nodded. "Then I don't really see the harm in continuing. We already did it in London. It wouldn't change anything if we keep doing it."

"I guess you're right," he said leaning in close to block out the noise all around them. Monica's heart started beating a little faster when he got so close and Chandler felt heat rise in his body.

"Let's go back to my room," Monica murmured. Chandler had big difficulties keeping his hands off her as they walked out.

Down the corridor, frightened that someone would stop them and ask them where they were going. Around a corner and they were close. Chandler's hands hovered around her sides and Monica swallowed hard.

Stopping in front of her door she fished out her keycard from her purse.

Chandler scratched the back of his head. "Listen, in the middle of everything if I scream the word "yippee!" Just ignore me."

Monica laughed, surprised, yet pleased, at how exciting he found it to be with her and turned the doorknob with Chandler's hands on her shoulders.

Rachel was sitting on her bed. They both froze, terrified that they had been caught.

"Hey Rachel," they greeted trying to appear nonchalant.

Rachel took no notice of how flustered they were and rambled about what Ross had said and what that meant. While both Monica and Chandler wanted to help both Ross and Rachel with their problems, they were a little bit too caught up in their own.

"Do you guys want to go downstairs for a drink?" Rachel finished and Monica tensed. More interruptions. She had no idea how to let Rachel down. Good thing Chandler was there, though.

"Yes we do. But, we have to change first," he replied, thankful for his quick thinking.

"Yes, I want to change," Monica's voice sounded strangely stained. "Why don't you go and get us a table." If Chandler's hands still hadn't been on her shoulders she was almost certain she would have dragged Rachel out of the room.

"We'll be down in like, five minutes."

Monica elbowed him and rolled her eyes. "Fifteen minutes."

Chandler made a comical sound in agreement.

Rachel was on her way out when the phone rang. Chandler resisted the urge to facepalm. Apparently the universe was against him today.

"It's Phoebe!" Rachel exclaimed in excitement.

"Yay…"

"That's great…" neither of them were able to sound happy.

As Rachel started to tell Phoebe in detail about Ross, Monica was fighting the urge to scream or cry. She shared a dejected look with Chandler. He leaned in to whisper something.

"Why don't we go and change in my room?"

She replied before she could think about it, "But my clothes are-"

Chandler raised his eyebrows at her. "Oh," she grinned and they quickly made their way out the door.

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><p>Down the corridor again, looking around, afraid to be caught. It was an urgency to their walk that hadn't been there before. When they got to the door Chandler pressed his ear against it, trying to hear if there was anyone there. Then he gently eased the door open. Monica got inside in a hurry and Chandler locked the door. Then he turned to face her.<p>

She was just standing there, smiling nervously at him. Chandler felt the excitement rise through his body like a wave and he suddenly felt nervous in a way he hadn't before. Monica, his friend. His really _hot _friend was here with him. He was prepared to try and translate some of the feelings into words.

"Wow, you look-"he began but Monica interrupted him, running over to him and started force of his jacket.

"No time for that," she said smiling at him, showing that she appreciated his effort. Chandler smiled back at her and was preparing to lean in and kiss her. As his jacket was thrown on the bed they heard a thump against the door. Frightened they jumped apart.

"Let me in! I got a girl out here." Joey said through the small crack in the door.

Monica and Chandler exchanged a sad look and he walked over through the door

"Well… I got a girl in here," Chandler said, trying not to give too much away, but hoping that Joey would take the hint.

"No, you don't," Joey snorted. "I just saw you go in there with Monica."

Monica felt a surprised expression fall over her face. So apparently she wasn't a girl? Still, she felt relieved at Joey's denseness.

"Well, w-we're hanging out in here!" Chandler was fighting now and Monica couldn't help but admire him.

"Which one of us is going to have sex in there, me or you?"

"I suppose I'd have to say you," Chandler snarled angrily. Why did this have to be so difficult? He could still convince Joey to leave though. "But, what if we're watching a movie in here?"

"Which we are!" Chandler heard that Monica was almost as desperate as him. "And-and, we already paid for it. It's _My Giant_!" she said as she turned the DVD she had in her hand.

"_My Giant_?" Joey sounded too happy. "I love that movie!"

Monica leaned her head on Chandler's shoulder, wanting to sob. They had lost, yet again. With a heavy heart Chandler opened the door and let Joey and Felicity in. Felicity looked at them with a questioning gaze. They pretended they didn't notice.

"This is great!" Joey grinned. "Now we can watch it together."

"Yeah…"

"Great…"

Chandler and Monica sat down on Chandler's bed. At least they could sit close together. Joey put the DVD in the player and turned off the lights.

The movie was starting but Chandler couldn't bring himself to focus on it. What became really important to him was that Monica was sitting next to him, both of them leaning against the headboard. Her leg was almost pressed against his. He had his hands folded in his lap. Chandler quickly looked over at Joey and Felicity who were both caught up in the movie. Slowly, carefully, he lifted his hand and tentatively placed it on Monica's knee. He felt her sharp intake of breath next to him. He looked over at the others one more time, but they hadn't noticed anything. He jumped a little when Monica's hand started to trace patterns on his shirt. He felt her chuckle next to him. Chandler started running his hand softly up and down her leg. Monica's laughter stilled at once.

It felt like slow, sweet torture. Having him so close, touching her and unable to do anything about it. Monica felt like her skin was on fire. It was too hot. She turned towards him, not really certain of what she was doing, leaned up towards him and kissed his neck hard. Chandler shot out of the bed as if lightning had hit him. Joey and Felicity looked surprised at him.

"We-we should go," Chandler stuttered. If the lights had been turned on they could have seen how badly he blushed. "You two should be alone," he continued fanatically. "Monica and I should go and check up on Ross."

"Oh yeah," Joey said, realization dawning on him. "I'll come with you."

"No," Monica almost yelled. Her voice was too loud. "He probably doesn't want to see all of us anyway. Just say here."

Joey shrugged. "Ok. See you later, then."

"Yes," they quickly replied and hurried out the door as fast as their legs could carry them.

Chandler noticed to his frustration that there were people in the hallway. He had been prepared to kiss Monica as soon as the door closed behind them.

"That was fun," Monica remarked dryly. Chandler looked at her and she looked as frustrated as he felt.

"Come on," he murmured and grabbed her hand, walking briskly down the hallway, looking for a quiet place.

* * *

><p>Chandler looked around the honeymoon suite, pleased at himself. It was the perfect place. Beautiful, romantic and most importantly, no one would interrupt them.<p>

Monica looked around with awe in her eyes. "You really think this is ok?"

Chandler almost snorted. Of course it wasn't ok. They were sneaking around to have sex and they could use the honeymoon suite because Ross's wedding crashed and burned the moment he stood at the altar. "Ross and Emily aren't going to use it," he said with a shrug.

"It's so beautiful," Monica said, sighing. "I don't know if I feel right about this."

Chandler flailed a little. She was having the same thoughts as him, only she wanted to act on them. Not good.

"Oh Mon-Mon-Mon-Mon look," he began panicked, stuttering. "This is the honeymoon suite." Happy that he had found some sort of argument he continued. "The room expects sex." Monica raised her eyebrows. "The room would be disappointed if it didn't get sex." She was smiling now. "All of the other honeymoon suits would think it was a looser."

Monica beamed at him. He was lucky she didn't need much persuasion. "Okay!" She agreed happily and ran over to the bed with Chandler, starting to turn the covers.

Only to be interrupted again.

"Emily?" Ross's voice had such hope to it.

Chandler's flushed face popped out from the covers. "Nope! Not under here."

Monica looked sadly at her brother. "You didn't find her?"

"No and I've looked everywhere!" Ross said, dejected.

"Well, you couldn't have looked everywhere or else you would have found her!" Chandler was trying to be helpful and to get Ross to leave at the same time. It didn't sound as great as he had planned out in his mind. He figured that Monica would probably want to help Ross.

She surprised him. "You should keep looking!"

Chandler beamed at her. "For like 30 minutes." He wanted to use his time. It probably would be the last time they did this.

"Or 45!" Monica grinned.

The meaning was not lost on him. "Wow, in 45 minutes you can find her twice!" Monica looked as if she was about to laugh. He could only guess that his expression was a weird mixture between surprise, awe, flattery and excitement. The feeling was short-lived, however.

"No!" Ross said firmly. "For all I know she's trying to find me but couldn't because I kept moving around. From now on I'm staying in one place." He walked determined over to the bed and sat down. "Here!"

Chandler was tempted to slap him. Or at least bury his head in the pillow and scream. Why-why-why did they keep getting interrupted like this?

Monica quietly touched his elbow. "It's getting late," she said, more to him than Ross.

"Yeah, we're going now," Chandler's hands moved to her waist and kept them there. They still had most of the night left.

"Actually," Ross's voice sounded kind of timid. "Do you guys mind staying here for a while?"

Chandler could see the inner struggle on Monica's features. "Ugh… We have to get up early and catch that plane from New York."

"Yes. It's a very large plane."

Ross stared disappointed at them. "That's cool."

Cursing softly to himself Chandler made a decision. Ross was his friend. His problems were more important than his sexual frustration. Monica would probably feel guilty for leaving Ross like this as well. "But, we'll stay here with you." It didn't mean that he had to enjoy it though.

Monica shot him a grateful look. Ross smiled at them. "Thanks guys." They sat down on each side of Ross. Chandler figured he could at least touch Monica behind Ross's back. What he didn't know wouldn't kill him. It could also be kind of fun teasing her like that. And it would help him having a sort of connection to her.

"I really appreciate this," Ross started to say, but looked strangely at Chandler. "But you don't have to rub my butt."

Awkwardly Chandler took his hand away and Monica stifled a giggle.

* * *

><p>The night with Ross proved to be a long one. Monica had hoped that they could at least talk about normal things so that she could take her mind off the man that was sitting next to her brother. Ross had talked almost all the time, however, forcing them to listen through his whole relationship with Rachel, <em>again<em>. As much as Monica tried to care, she was getting tired of the whole story. He should be telling Emily this. That he and Rachel were through. That him saying her name at the altar had just been a slip of the tongue. That he loved Emily. Instead it was her and Chandler who got to hear the story they had heard a million times before. It didn't really take her mind of what she wanted to do. She looked solemnly at the doors that separated her and Chandler from freedom. She wanted to drag him through them, close them and have him make love to her for hours. She checked her watch. One hour. She wanted to hit Ross. She looked over at him and saw to her surprise, and relief, that he had fallen asleep in Chandler's lap. Chandler looked as tired and depressed as she felt.

"We have to leave for New York in an hour," Chandler said somberly.

"I know," Monica sighed. "I've been looking at those doors, they look pretty sound proof, don't you think?"

Chandler looked at her and tried to rub the tiredness out of his eyes. "We can't do that," he said flatly. "I mean, A- he could wake up and B- you know, let's go for it."

Monica flashed him a quick smile and they both started to ease out from under Ross. A knock on the door woke him up, however. Monica let out the biggest groan of her life.

* * *

><p>After Mr. and Mrs. Waltham left, Ross and Rachel stood in the room with Monica and Chandler.<p>

"I guess we should go and pack." Chandler's voice had no happy quality left. He stared at Monica.

"Yeah," Monica agreed. "We have to leave soon." She checked her watch. They could still be able to have sex once if they hurried.

"Oh! We should go and pack too," Rachel tried to smile. Monica and Chandler didn't. They stared angrily at her.

"I guess," Ross murmured. "My plane doesn't leave for a couple of hours, though."

"I'll go with you," Rachel declared. Monica would have protested if she hadn't been too busy trying to sneak out the door with Chandler. They made it as far as the hallway.

"Hey Mon, wait up," Rachel hurried after them. "Your room is next to mine. Let's go."

Monica stared sadly at Chandler. "See you."

"Yeah, see you, Mon."

They turned and walked away in opposite directions. As soon as Chandler made it around the corner he promptly smacked his head against the wall.

* * *

><p>They were traveling back to New York with Joey so both of them assumed that all the opportunities had passed. It didn't make it any easier though. In the cab and at the airport they were still in London so the New York rule didn't count yet, and both of them looked for a small chance to slip away for a few minutes. It didn't happen.<p>

As they were boarding, Joey commented, "You seem a little tense."

"Yeah," Chandler trailed off watching Monica's back in front him.

"Dude!" Joey poked his shoulder.

"Sorry," Chandler grimaced. "I just don't want to go back to New York and my job."

"I miss New York!" Joey exclaimed.

Monica turned around and smiled at him softly. "We'll be there in a few hours, Joe. Just relax."

As they boarded the plane Monica tried to say goodbye to whatever she had, had with Chandler the last 30 hours or so. Surprised she felt that she was unable to do so. She shrugged. She would get over it, in time.

* * *

><p>It was difficult to try and start to let anything go when she was seated next to Chandler. For the first hours they were mostly silent, trying to start conversations about lighter topics but unable to keep them up. Most of the time they stared straight ahead terrified to bring up the elephant in the room.<p>

After a while Monica felt like she was going to explode. "Maybe it's best we never got to do it again," she exclaimed hastily without any explanation. Chandler didn't have to be a genius to figure out what she was talking about.

"Yeah, it kind of makes that one night special." He kept on staring straight ahead. For some reason this felt as awkward as when they had woken up this morning. The night would be special anyway, he realized. No matter if they did it only once or a hundred times. Something dawned on him…

"Technically, we are still over international waters."

Monica wanted to kiss him so badly right then. "I'm going to the bathroom. Maybe I'll see you there in a bit," she teased.

"Kay!" Chandler replied, giddy with joy. He stared longingly after her as she walked away. He turned back to get up and realized startled that Joey was sitting in Monica's seat.

"Can I ask you something?" Joey sounded serious.

Chandler pondered for a quick moment. This was his last opportunity with Monica. He could talk to Joey every day. "No."

Joey didn't seem to care. "Felicity and I, we're watching _My Giant_, and I was thinking, "I'm never gonna be as good an actor as that giant." Do you think I'm just wasting my life with this acting thing?"

Oh, why did he have to have this conversation now? "No," Chandler replied, anxious to get Joey out of the way.

"I mean, the giant is like five years younger than me," Joey continued. "Do you think I'll ever get there?"

Chandler stared at him for a couple of seconds. "Yes."

Joey looked relieved. "Thanks man."

"Okay," Chandler started to get up, surprised that it had been that easy.

"But, what about how much taller he is than me?" Joey cried.

Chandler sunk down in his seat. Never, ever say that things are easy. For this conversation he would need alcohol. A lot of it.

Joey kept talking and Chandler was finishing his third mini-bottle when Monica came back. She did not look happy.

"Hey Monica," Joey replied caught up in his own problems. "Uh wow. You've been to the bathroom for half an hour."

"I know," Monica gritted her teeth and stared furiously at Chandler. He made a defeated gesture to Joey and the alcohol and she seemed to understand. They both had depressed frown on their faces as Monica went and sat down in Joey's chair.

* * *

><p>Landing in New York and pretending that everything was normal was actually easier than Monica had thought it would be. She was able to joke with both Joey and Chandler as if nothing had happened. However, something had happened between her and Chandler and she was surprised to find out that it didn't change anything. He was still her friend.<p>

Seeing Phoebe again was great and they greeted her with much enthusiasm.

"You ate meat!" Phoebe accusingly exclaimed and pointed at Joey. Then she turned surprised to Monica and Chandler. "You had sex!"

"No we didn't," Chandler denied. Phoebe couldn't know that anyway.

"I know _you_ didn't," Phoebe snorted and Chandler was surprised to find himself a little hurt. "I was talking about Monica."

Monica rolled her eyes and easily lied. "Phoebe, I did not have sex."

Surprisingly, Phoebe dropped it. "This pregnancy is throwing me all off! And making me fat." Monica smiled a little.

"Well, I'll go and say hey to chick and the duck." Joey picked up his bags.

"Oh! Me too," Phoebe smiled happily. Chandler gave Monica a confused look.

Joey seemed to feel the same way. "Why would you need to say hey to them? You've been feeding them for four days."

Phoebe suddenly looked flustered. "Maybe I'll just go home."

Joey's eyes widened in terror and both of them hurried out of the apartment.

Monica couldn't help but find it ironic. "Well, we certainly are alone."

"Yeah," Chandler moved around in the kitchen. "Good thing we have that "Not New York" rule." He didn't sound like he thought it was a good thing. Monica silently agreed. Still, neither of them wanted to jeopardize their friendship. She figured she might as well tell him how she felt.

"While we're still on that subject, I just wanted to tell you," she stuttered a bit, struggling to find the right words. Chandler smiled encouraging at her. "I was going through a real hard time in London, with Ross getting married," she paused. "And that guy thinking I was his mom."

"Right," Chandler murmured, wanting to reassure her, but Monica wasn't done yet.

"Well, anyway," she felt a blush creeping up her cheek. "That night meant a lot to me." She met his gaze. "I guess I'm trying to say thanks."

Chandler tossed an apple from one hand to another. He looked around the apartment as if to reassure himself that they were the only two there. He smiled. "You know, that night meant a lot to me too." He put the apple down and walked closer. "Not because I was in a bad place or anything," he smiled smugly at her. "It just meant a lot to me because... You're really hot!" His face was so serious that Monica couldn't help but laughing. He smiled endearingly at her. "Is that okay?" Monica had trouble getting over how adorable he looked at that moment.

Still stifling her laughter she agreed. "That's okay."

She could almost see his confidence build. "And I'm cute too?"

She laughed again. It was so like him, fishing for compliments. But it was true. "You're cute too!"

He wrapped her up in a hug. "Thank you."

As they pulled away from each other Monica started to doubt the rule they had set. It was obviously something there. Something special. And from the looks of it, whatever it was between them didn't ruin them. It made them stronger. She was debating how clever it was to talk about this with Chandler though.

"All right," Chandler sounded sad. "I have to go unpack."

She high fived him, still caught up in her thoughts. It wasn't too late to tell him to stay. But as Chandler made his way to the door, she couldn't find her voice. And then he was by the door and he was saying goodbye and smiling at her and then the door was closed and it was too late. Monica started walking towards the door, desperately to call him back. She wanted- She didn't really know what she wanted. She wanted something. By the door she paused. It was a bad idea. They had both agreed to just be friends when they got home. She turned to walk away; feeling a little more crushed a step at the time.

The door opened behind her and she turned surprised around to find Chandler standing there. The door closed behind him with a sharp bang. Chandler was dragging his hand over his face, desperately debating something. Monica looked at him and hoped.

With a plea in his eyes Monica had never seen before, he spoke, giving her one last chance, wanting her to take it. Wanting to be with her. "I'm still on London time. Does that count?"

Monica stared at him, a million emotions flashing in her eyes. "Oh, that counts."

And then they were holding each other and kissing like they never had before. She was clinging to Chandler, wanting to hold him forever and he crushed her against him, wanting her closer, closer. His jacket was tossed on the floor and so very un-Monica-like, Monica didn't care. She let her hands roam over his body as Chandler kissed her neck. He slowly backed her up towards the couch as she fanatically popped the buttons on his shirt open.

They both were on the couch, him on top of her, doing something it felt like they have done a million times before. As Monica pulled him down to kiss him she couldn't help but wondering. Their relationship wasn't just based on sex. It was friendship that had evolved into something new and thrilling. Perhaps unbeknown to Chandler, he had taken the first step into a new and better part of their lives. As she let herself get carried higher she realized that this was probably the best decision she had ever made in her life.

* * *

><p>Chandler was holding her and it was quiet. The silence was welcoming for it let them both have time to think. Chandler could feel her breath on his chest and for a little while he forgot and allowed himself just to feel. It felt so good having her lying next to him.<p>

"I don't want to stop," Monica's voice hitched in her throat. He looked down at her and found her staring at him with bright eyes. "I don't want us to stop this, whatever this is."

Chandler leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He got one in return on his chest. "Me neither."

"So we should continue?" her voice was filled with hope.

"I think so," Chandler murmured. "We're still able to act like before. I don't think it's going to be a problem." He smiled at her. "And when it's not a problem, there's no reason for us to stop."

Monica hugged him. "I think so too."

Chandler hugged her back, but felt scared at the voice inside of him that screamed that he just had taken his first step towards doom. Truth be told, he didn't really care. He and Monica were just goofing around, being great friends. He looked down at her, pressed against him with closed eyes, smiling softly and he sighed happily. There was no way something this good could be wrong.


	3. The One After London Time

**A/N**: And woah, this drabble is M-rated. Didn't nail Monica's personality but at least I'm trying. The timeline is a bit of a stretch, but please go with it :) Unsure about where I ended this chapter since the next one will probably pick up almost right away. Eh. That will leave me with the opportunity to write Chandler. Oooh. I'm looking forward to that. Also, I'm not even going to apologize for updating so infrequently. Because that's what I _do_. Let's blame Castle. /End rant

If you didn't catch it: THIS CHAPTER IS M-RATED :0

* * *

><p><strong>The One After London Time<strong>

She was lying in her bed and listened to him breathing. She was facing away from him, none of their body parts touching. She was naked and nervous. She didn't want him to wake up. She didn't want to know if it was going to be awkward. If it was, they would have to stop. Her breath hitched. She didn't want to stop. She didn't know what this she had with him was, or what it could be. She couldn't phantom why they never had done it before. She wanted to spend more time with him and that scared her. They had only agreed to be friends who had sex. That was probably all he wanted. She didn't know what she wanted. She was afraid to get too attached.

"You awake?" His raspy morning voice sent shivers down her spine. For a few seconds she debated to pretend sleeping, but decided that it was best to face the problem head on.

"Yes," she whispered, having trouble to find her voice.

She felt him shift next to her and nearly jumped out of her skin when he wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her hair and her eyes drifted shut, content.

"Aren't you going to say good morning?" She could hear amusement in his voice and she smiled softly. Turning in his arms, she found herself face to face with eyes that studied her intently. There was no awkwardness between them. It felt right. Unidentified emotions overwhelming her, she pressed her lips to his, not caring about morning breath for one second. His eyes were twinkling.

"Morning Chandler."

"Morning Monica."

She ran her fingers through his hair and felt his hands roaming her back, and suddenly the little distance between them was too great. She hurriedly scooted closer to him and placed her head against his chest. He seemed to understand. His arms were wrapped around her in a secure embrace.

"What time is it?" She murmured, enjoying the closeness, his arms, their legs tangled up in each other.

"It's 6 soon." She felt his breath on her hair.

"Joey's going to wonder where you've been."

She felt him shake his head. "If he did, he would have come looking. From what I know, you and I watched a movie and I came back after he went to sleep."

Anxiousness surged through her and she moved a little out of his embrace so she could look him in the eye. "We have to be more careful."

His brow was furrowed and she could see that he was confused. "Why?"

She ran her fingers soothingly through his hair again. "If Joey had come looking…" she trailed off, realizing that they never had discussed it. "We are going to keep this between us, right?"

"Oh." Realization dawning on his face. "Yes, I think that would be best."

Silence fell over them. She felt uncertain about what subject to breach next.

"What are you doing today?" He was averting his eyes. She tried to catch his gaze to figure out what he meant, but he refused to look at her.

"Unpack," she stated softly, when it became clear he wouldn't look at her. "Since I became preoccupied last night."

Finally looking at her, he swallowed. "Do you think maybe we could help each other unpack?"

Her heart jumped. Doing something as ridiculous as helping each other unpack could only mean one thing: He was offering to spend time with her. At least that was what she thought. He could mean that he wanted sex. She had to be sure.

"By unpack you mean?"

She was staring at him, her insides screaming at him to say what she wanted him to say. He moved closer and rested his forehead against hers. His eyes were closed. She could feel his quick breaths on her face.

"By unpack I mean unpack."

Her heart was beating so fast that she had to take a heavy breath to steady herself. Closing her eyes she whispered "I'd like that."

He leaned in and kissed her. Basking in emotional pleasure, she shivered and opened her mouth to meet him halfway. Warm, wet and arousing. She heard him sigh softly against her mouth and she swung her leg over his hip, inviting him closer. Needing him closer. His mouth left hers to trail kisses down her neck to her shoulder. She felt him shift and she rolled with him, his weight pressing her pleasantly into the mattress.

Her leg slipped from his back as he trailed his kisses lower. When he reached her breasts she arched her back to give him better access and she felt him smile against her. She pulled her fingers through his hair, urging him to continue and he happily obliged.

His hand between her legs. His lips on her breast. Deep, shaky breaths.

"Chandler…"

He locked eyes with her and seemed to understand. He pulled away from her and she shivered when cold air hit her. Even though he would be right back, the distance felt unbearable. Rolling on a condom he pulled her close again. She kissed him, trying to convey some of her emotions.

Facing him, she straddled his legs, allowing him to fill her slowly, eyes drifting shut in pleasure. He wrapped his arms around her again, holding her close. For a little while they sat enjoying the feeling of being as close as people can get.

Then she started to move. Tentatively at first, but as pleasure overtook her senses, with more urgency. His hands were everywhere and she kissed him more passionately than she'd ever done before. Eyes squeezed shut, every muscle in her body tense as she came; she managed to bring him there too.

Relaxed and utterly confused she opened her eyes to find him staring mesmerized at her. Leaning her forehead she whispered softly "I know." Because she knew. Sex between friends shouldn't be like this. This overwhelming and breathtaking. It left her confused and scared, and yet, so utterly satisfied. She was sure he felt the same way.

"Is there something wrong with us?" His voice was shaky.

She licked her lips, trying to figure out what would be the right thing to say, without him fleeing the room in fear.

"No, I…" she kissed him softly. "It feels right somehow."

She took a chance. There was a million ways he could interpret it and she hoped with every fiber of her being that he would interpret it the way she intended it. Not possessive, not that they should be in a relationship, just that what they did felt right.

He stared at her, eyes soft and smiled. "Yes, it does."

* * *

><p>Monica slowly eased herself off him and curled up on the bed. Chandler cleaned up with some of the paper towels she had on her nightstand before he laid down next to her.<p>

"Rachel is coming back today," she sighed. "And Ross too, if he didn't find Emily." She turned to look at him, taking in his soft eyes and messy hair and realized suddenly that he was handsome. She felt her throat close and tried to shake the emotions, but she was left with an unmistakable desire for the man next to her.

"We have to be more careful then," Chandler said, oblivious to Monica's emotions next to him. "Rachel isn't as gullible as Joey."

He turned and stared at her, seeing the conflicting emotions on her face. "What?"

Even though she was terrified of saying something wrong, she still had an urge to express her emotions out loud. "It's just…" She couldn't meet his eyes. "You're really handsome." Blurting it out before she had a chance to reconsider. Great.

She could sense his confusion and a blush formed on her cheeks. When she finally looked at him again, she saw the hit of a blush on his cheeks too.

"Thank you, I…" he stuttered softly.

Monica hid her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. This is so embarrassing."

Chandler took her hands away and held them tight in his own. He smiled lopsided at her. "Really, thank you. You're beautiful."

Not understanding why she felt so embarrassed, but realizing that she was, she wanted to hide her face in her hands again. Seeing as Chandler held them, she scooted in close and tucked her face under his chin, to keep him from staring at her. "Thank you."

For a little while they laid in companionable silence, listening to the other breathing.

She felt Chandler clear his throat. "I need to go. Joey might wake up and I'm usually up by this time, so he's going to wonder if I'm not there."

Monica turned her head and saw the time closing in on 7. "You don't have to, you know. Since we all took the day off."

"Yeah, but I need to work off the jet lag as soon as possible."

She sighed. "You're going to be a mess since we almost didn't sleep tonight."

Chandler laughed. "Don't worry about it. This is something I'm more than willing to sacrifice sleep for."

They fell into silence for a few more minutes, Monica enjoying the thought of him willing to sacrifice something for her. She was trailing patterns on his arms and his hands were stroking her back.

He sighed heavily and kissed her lips lightly. "I really need to go."

She smiled compassionately at him and rolled out of his arms. "I might get up as well."

"Oh, don't do that." Chandler looked pleadingly at her. "You should sleep some more, since you have the opportunity."

She wanted to say what was on her mind, but was afraid it was too soon. She settled for the half-truth. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep, that's all."

Perhaps he knew what was on her mind. Perhaps he felt the same way. Chandler did at least not push the issue anymore.

Their clothes were neatly folded on the dresser because she had insisted. When they had moved from the living room to the bedroom they had brought their thrown-away clothes with them in case someone came in. Since they already had picked up the clothes they might as well fold them. Surprisingly Chandler had indulged her without complaint. The thought made her smile.

Chandler dressed sloppily, stating he was going home to shower and Monica roamed her closet for something to wear.

"I'll bring Joey over in a couple of hours and we can have breakfast," he smiled.

Monica, wrapped in her bathrobe, followed him to the door. "See you soon," she grinned softly as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately goodbye.

"I'll come over tonight?" Chandler voiced it as a question.

Sighing deeply, enjoying his hands on her hips, she answered. "Or I'll come over to your place. We'll see what works best."

He kissed her softly, one more time before leaving. After the door closed behind him, Monica allowed the force of emotions to hit her. Chandler. She was doing it with Chandler. In a way she hadn't realized it until now. London felt sort of like another dimension. Another life. Back in New York everything was the same, except now, it all was changed. Things about Chandler she'd never noticed or cared about suddenly became important. How he actually was handsome. How blue his eyes were. Realization hitting her, she sat heavily down on one of the kitchen chairs. She was crushing on Chandler. Leaning her head in her hands, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. It was ridiculous. She was crushing on her best friend. A guy who was freaking out the moment relationships and commitment was mentioned. They could never be anything. Yet, here they were, doing this.

Forcing herself to stop, Monica shook her head at herself. She shouldn't try to analyze. They were what they were and would become what they became. Currently, what they had was great and she shouldn't try to force it. She shouldn't even think about it. At least not so soon.

While taking a shower she played in her mind every moment Chandler and her had together since they hooked up. It left her smiling and burning with desire once again. She couldn't understand it. The more they were together, the more she wanted. Hearing the phone ring, she groaned, but turned off the shower and went to answer it.

She never would have expected the conversation that followed. "Monica? It's Ross…"

* * *

><p>After hanging up with Ross, Monica stared dumbfounded at the phone for a few seconds. Poor Ross. Everything seemed to be against him these days. Suddenly feeling the urge to see the person that somehow always seemed to brighten her day, she quickly dressed and made her way over to Joey and Chandler's.<p>

She entered without knocking, because that's what they did, and found Chandler relaxing in his barcalounger reading a comic book. Turning his head to see who it was, he smiled at her and swirled the chair around to face her.

"Joey's not up yet," his eyebrows rising as he stared questioning at her.

Crossing the room in one fluid motion she leaned down and kissed him, leaving him smiling at her.

"What's up?"

"Ross called." _I missed you_. "He's taking a flight home now."

Chandler was holding her hands and Monica sat down on the armrest next to him. "So he didn't meet Emily then?"

"Oh, he did," Monica sighed. "It's worse."

Chandler was now resting on of his hands on her knee and she was so aware of it, feeling the tingling running up her leg and leaving her stomach in knots. It was a familiar gesture that suddenly meant so much more. It was difficult to try to keep acting like everything was like before. Keeping track of the conversation, even a serious one, proved to be difficult.

"He was waiting for Emily when he saw Rachel on her way home and they started talking."

Chandler groaned. "Don't say that she told him."

Monica shook her head. "Even though it might have been better if she had."

Chandler stared surprised at her.

"Then anything of this mess wouldn't have happened," she explained. "It didn't seem like Emily was going to show up, so Ross convinced Rachel to go with him. But as they were boarding the plane Emily showed up and saw them together. So she fled and Ross chased her. But apparently Rachel had already boarded so she's probably in Greece by now. And Ross lost Emily at the airport and couldn't find her with any of her relatives or friends."

Chandler stared at her. "You're kidding!"

Monica smiled sadly. "Afraid not. I shouldn't really be here." She shrugged towards the door. "I should be over there to see if Rachel's gonna call."

Chandler was shaking his head. "It's just a little difficult to believe. Poor Ross."

Monica sighed. "I know. I feel really sorry for Rachel too. I mean, I kind of liked Emily before she married my brother even though she had already decided that she wasn't going to let him explain and let them work on their marriage, but I always thought him and Rachel had something special."

"I did too."

For a few seconds they sat in silence and Monica felt the tension and the unidentified emotions welling up in her. Suddenly she was overwhelmed with a feeling that something in this world _had_ to be alright, and before she knew it she was sitting in Chandler's lap, kissing him as if the world depended on it. He didn't miss a beat and was kissing her back the moment he felt her lips on his.

The sense of urgency leaving her, Monica allowed herself to enjoy the moment. Hungry kisses. Soft kisses. When she felt Chandler's hands sneaking under her shirt to cup her breasts through her bra, she broke away. Chandler grinned at her.

"We can't do that," she mock-scolded, and he grinned wider.

"Oh, I know," his eyes were twinkling at her. "But there's nothing wrong with doing this." He pushed her bra out of the way and rolled her nipples between his fingers. A shot of arousal shot through Monica and she scowled at him.

"You like it," he winked at her.

Angrily she leaned in to kiss him, to wipe the stupid expression off his face. Chandler panted breathless at her and she gracefully got out off his lap and straightened her bra and shirt.

"I'm gonna go back now," she declared and Chandler was pouting a little. It made her laugh. "I need to see if Rachel will call and I have to start making breakfast."

"Fine," Chandler sighed.

"You can come too, if you like." She wanted him to come. Even if that meant that she would be distracted from what she was supposed to do. It frightened her. How she was willing to give up some order and organizing for him. And they didn't even have a relationship. And it was still during their third day together.

"I should probably wait for Joey," Chandler said apologetically.

Monica tried to pretend that she wasn't disappointed. She didn't fool him.

"It's just that he might be suspicious," he explained softly. "He didn't see me all night and then I'm gone when he wakes up."

"Yeah, no big deal." She waved it off. It shouldn't be a big deal. She was determined not to let it be one.

Chandler got up from the chair and kissed her. It made her feel better. It wasn't like he was rejecting her or anything. He was just being practical and she could appreciate that. She _should _appreciate that.

His hands framing her face he kissed her lips softly a few more times before letting go. He was a really good kisser, leaving her longing for more every time. They both sighed noticeably and then pretended they didn't. Still standing close together, totally invading each other's personal space, but it felt good. Why was it so difficult to leave? Chandler stroked her hair and she trailed a finger down the side of his face.

"Ok, really leaving now," Monica grinned. Somewhere in the future she could totally imagine them being one of those "no, you hang up first" couples. She shouldn't really think about it. Them being a couple. But as she mentally scolded herself, she realized she was totally okay with that idea.


End file.
